Julia McDermott

Julia McDermott was born in Dallas, grew up in Atlanta, and graduated from UNC - Chapel Hill, spending her junior year abroad in Montpellier, France. She is the author of New Adult/French Travel Romance MAKE THAT DEUX, Psychological Suspense UNDERWATER, and Creative Nonfiction/Memoir ALL THE ABOVE. She self-published all three, but six months after the release of her second novel, UNDERWATER, Amazon Publishing's thriller imprint Thomas & Mercer acquired it, and rereleased it in November 2014. Its German translation, UNTER WASSER, was published by AmazonCrossing on February 2015.

Julia is a member of the Atlanta Writers Club and Sisters in Crime. She appeared at the 2014 Dahlonega Literary Festival, Bouchercon 2014, the 2015 Augusta Literary Festival, the 2015 Decatur Book Festival, Bouchercon 2015 and Killer Nashville 2015. She resides in Atlanta with her family, and loves football, Christmas, reading, most kinds of art, and all things French.

Underwater

Suspense (Fiction - Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense)

Candace Morgan is the CEO of her own women’s apparel company and is poised to launch a new swimsuit line that will cement her reputation for success. She’s also a woman haunted by a wrong turn in her past. After her brother guilts her into making him a huge loan to speculate in real estate, she believes she’s fulfilled a promise she made decades ago. Instead, she’s been roped into a renovation from hell, with no end in sight to her brother’s demands.

Monty Carawan has always been jealous of his sister’s good fortune and is convinced that her wealth came at the expense of the future he deserved. Why shouldn’t she part with a fraction of her millions to even the score? When the crumbling housing market takes a plunge, Candace tries to disentangle herself and the tension rises to a boiling point. Monty’s wife Helen strives to keep their marriage afloat as rough seas threaten their young family, and her own demons rise to the surface.

Dive into a page-turning suspense novel that asks questions about generosity, greed, shame, and sorrow as a family struggles and sinks deep underwater…

All the Above:My son's battle with brain cancer

On his 19th birthday - the day after his freshman year at the University of Georgia - Jack McDermott woke up with double vision. Hours later, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Positioned deep in his head right behind his optic nerves, the tumor rapidly threatened to rob Jack of his sight, and he was rushed into surgery. For the next six months, he fought the battle of his life.

Told with honesty, tenderness, and compassion, All the Above chronicles his mom’s emotional struggle when her son looked death in the face, and as she did everything possible to help him survive brain cancer. This inspiring true story of courage, optimism, and hope will touch all those whose world has changed in a day, and who have faced grief and loss.